Development News

Bayswater Town Centre Structure Plan - now out for Community Comment

The City of Bayswater has released the draft Bayswater Town Centre Structure Plan (BTCSP) for community comment for a six week period.

The draft structure plan establishes a broad framework for land use that will guide how the Bayswater town centre area develops into the future.

Information about the draft structure plan can be found on the City's community consultation portal engage.bayswater: http://engage.bayswater.wa.gov.au/

City of Bayswater Mayor Barry McKenna said having community feedback on the plan was critical to making sure it would be fit for purpose and would meet the expectations of key stakeholders; including ratepayers, residents and business owners.

"The draft document is intended to provide a solid planning foundation for the success of Bayswater town centre for many years to come," Mayor McKenna said.

"It will pave the way for development that preserves the town centre's unique heritage and character, while also ensuring it is vibrant and successful as a retail destination and as a great place in which to live and work."

The draft BTCSP looks at local transport connections, public spaces, providing for housing choices and commercial uses, high quality urban design and built form, traffic flows, and creating a walkable and welcoming town centre.

As part of the structure plan, provision is made for increasing housing densities to support population growth. The plan envisages development heights ranging from two to four storeys, with the exception of the area around Beechboro Road and King William Street where heights of up to five or six storeys can be achieved.

With population growth, the draft plan allows for more local cafes and shop, as well as other retail opportunities along the main streets of the town centre.

"This is about creating a thriving, walkable and liveable town centre featuring high quality urban design," Mayor McKenna said.

"It also provides the potential for the community to access local employment opportunities and a wide range of locally based services, such as banks, shops, cafes, restaurants and good public transport options."

The importance of preserving and enhancing heritage and character hasn't been forgotten. The draft structure plan divides the town centre into a series of Character Precincts. The look and feel of each precinct is defined and the desired future character is described. The draft structure plan then provides for development requirements unique to each Character Precinct.

The City is separately developing design guidelines to accompany the structure plan. High quality design will be encouraged by offering the potential for height and plot ratio bonuses.

With the State Government pledging $40 million to upgrade Bayswater train station and work on the Forrestfield Airport Link underway, the structure plan has been designed to be flexible enough to accommodate any changes to the station that may result.

Once adopted, the City of Bayswater will prepare an amendment to its town planning scheme to allow for the changes needed to land zoning within the structure plan area.